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(No Model.)

F. EOAUBERT & T. B. HAGSTOZ MECHANISM FOR MAKING WATGH GASES.

No. 426,118. Patented Apr. 22, 1890.

P w N "W b Nrrn STATES ATENT OFFICE,

FREDERIO EOAUBERT, OF BROOKLYN, NE\V YORK, AND THOMAS l3. HAG- STOZ, OF NEVARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS TO SAID FREDERIO EOAU- BERT.

MECHANISM FOR MAKING WATCH-CASES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,118, dated April 22, 1890.

Application filed November 11, 1889. Serial No. 329,840. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FREDERIO ECAUBERT, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, and THOMAS B. IIAGSTOZ, of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, both citizens of the United States, have invented an Improved Mechanism for Making lVatch-Oases, of which the following is a specification.

Watch-cases in which the curved edges of the lids and the watch-case center are in the same are of a circle or ellipse, so that t-hcline of separation between the case and the center is as indistinct as possible, are known as bassine cases, and the present invent-ion relates to the tools made use of in manufacturing such watch-cases.

\Vhen these bassinewatch-cases are made of silver or gold, the curved edges can be turned off to the desired arc of a circle or an ellipse sectionally, so that the lines of separation between the lids and the center are scarcely noticeable; but when rolled plate or filled stock is made use of the gold upon the brass or similar metal is usually so thin that the exterior surface of the case cannot be turned off without cutting through the gold.

Our present invention enables these hassinc cases to be manufactured out of rolled plate or filled stock; but the dies themselves could also be made use of in the manufacture of gold or silver cases.

In Letters Patent heretofore granted to F.- Ecaubert a die is represented with an internal shape corresponding accurately to the external shape of the watch-case center or lid, and a roller is employed within the center and the lid to press the metal outwardly within the die. It has, however, been found that dies constructed according to the patent heretofore granted are not adapted to filling cutthe angle in the sheet metal formed at the periphery of the watch-case lid and at the same time give shape to the inward flange surrounding the edge of such lid, and one of the difficulties in making use of a roller within the watch case lid is that the arbor or shaft upon which the roller is supported is liable to spring to a greater or less extent under the severe pressure made use of, and in so doing the roller assumes a slightly-diagonal position to the die and its action is imperfect, and besides this, rollers heretofore made use of have had a central hole opening entirely through the roll, and thereby the convex face of the roll that comes into contact with the interior of the watch-case lid was liable to scratch such watclrcase lid in consequence of the metal springing into the hole receiving the shaft or axis of the roller. In our present improvements both these difficultics are avoided by making the roller with a hole that does not pass entirely through the same 3 hence the surface of the roller that is in contact with the interior of the watch-case lid is continuous, and the metal of the lid cannot spring and become injured, as has heretofore sometimes been the case; and in order to prevent the injurious effects arising from the slight spring of the arbor and shaftupon which the roll revolves, such arbor or shaft is made of a diameter to fit the hole in the roll at the end only of such shaft or arbor, the metal of such shaft or arbor being turned off to reduce the diameter of such arbor a little distance back from the end of the arbor. Thereby the pressure comes entirely upon the full-sized end portion of the arbor, and the roller is free to accommodate itself accurately to the watch-case lid that is being manufactured.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a section of the watch case, the lid being in position on one side and the other lid separated from the watch-case center. Fig. 2 is a section of the die and roller made use of in the manufacture of the watclrcasc lid, and Fig. 3 is a section of the sheetmetal blank, and Fig. at is a modification in the bearing for the roll.

The die A is of an internal shape and size corresponding exactly to the external shape of the watch-case lid to be manufactured, and the die B sets into the same, and the two parts are clamped together in any suit-able holder or chuck such, for instance, as those shown in Letters Patent No. 253,355, granted to F. Ecaubert. lhe roller O is of a size and shape adapted to the production of the interior configuration of the watch-case lid, and the central hole for the arbor or axis D does not pass entirely through this roller C, so that the convex face of such roller may be smooth and highly polished to prevent injury to the interior surface of the lid during the rolling operation, and the end portion of the arbor or shaft D is the full size of the hole in the roller 0, and the diameter is reduced at all the portions of the shaft which are Within the roller, except the end hearing, so that the pressure will be applied only at the full-sized portion 2 of the shaft or axis at the end thereof, and this pressure hence will force the roller properly against the interior surface of the watch-case lid, and there will be no tendency to tip the roller into the diagonal position in consequence of any strain bending or springing the shaft or axis D, and the pressure against the edge of the roll tends to force the convex face against the inside of the lid. If the arbor or shaft is parallel and the hole in the roller 0 is slightly enlarged, as seen in Fig. 4, a bearing will only be taken at the inner end, and this is the equivalent of the construction shown in Fig. 1.

In the manufacture of watch-case lids the sheet metal is bent up by any suitable dies into the form represented in Fi 3 with the inturned flange 4, and the size of this blank is very slightly less than the internal measurements of the die A, so that when the blank E, Fig. 3, is put into the die A and the die B closed upon the same the sheet-metal blank will be confined in its position by such dies A B, and the roller'C can be brought into operation within the blank E for the twofold purpose of perfecting the shape of the watch-case lid by forcing out the angle or edge 5 into the die A and of giving to the i11- teriorof the lid the proper size and shape; but it will be apparent that the periphery of the lid cannot be forced into the die A B to make a sharp edge at 5, as required in the bassine cases, without the roller 0 pressing against the inner edge of the flange 4, and also supporting the back surface of such flange 4 and driving the metal. forcibly outwardly and into the angle between the dies A and B. To effect this object considerable pressure is required of the roller 0 against the interior surface of the blank lid, and the tendency of the pressure of the roller is to drive the metal from the periphery toward the center of the lid. To prevent this we make the roller 0 as large as possible, so that its convex side or face may coincide as much as possible with the whole of the interior surface of the watch-case lid; but it will be apparent that the diameter of the roller cannot be larger than the distance between the edges of the inturned flange 4, and in order that this inturned flange 4 may be properly supported during the rolling operation it is necessary to make the flat face 6 of the, die B Wider than such flange 4. The roller 0 is therefore of larger diameter than the opening in the die B, and in putting the parts to gether the roller is introduced into the blank E while in the die A before the die B is put into its place upon the die A, and it will now be apparent that when the pressure is applied to the roller 0 to force it outwardly against theinterior of the blank lid the face 6 of the die B' aids in keeping the roller C properly in its position within the lid during the operation of forcing the metal out- Wardly to fill in the interior of the die A,and to make a sharp angle at the edge of the flange 4. The case-center is to be manufactured by tools similar to those shown in Let-- ters Patent No. 253,855, granted to F. Ecaubert.

In the trade these bassine cases are sometimes entirely smooth and in other instances they are engraved or ornamented, in all instances the joint being concealed as mnch as possible.

The dies heretofore made by us, as shown in Patents Nos. 270,644 and 362,615, are adapted to placing ornaments on the case, and the dies herein shown maybe engraved or ornamented so as to make these bassine cases with ornaments or ornamental configurations to any desired extent.

We claim as our invention- 1. The combination, with the die A, having an interior configuration corresponding to the exterior configuration of the watch-case lid, and the die B, setting against the die A, of the roll C, having a central hole passinginto but not through the same, a smooth convex surface adapted to form the'interior of the watchcase lid, and the periphery of the roll shaped to correspond to the interior of the lid at the inward flange 4, and an axis or shaft for the roll, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with dies for holding the watch-case lid or other article, of a roll adapted to shape the interior of such article, and an axis or shaft for the same of full size near the end thereof, and the other portions of reduced diameter or its equivalent, for the purpose and substantially as set forth.

The combination, with dies corresponding in internal shape to the exterior of the watclrcase lid or other article, of a roll having a convex face and a hole passing into but not through such roll, and a shaft or axis for supporting the roll, of full diameter at the end and of reduced diameter in the other portion of the axis within the roll, or its equivalent, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with the die A, having an internal shape corresponding to the external shape of the watch-case lid or. similar article, and the die B, having a central opening, of a roll C, of larger diameter than the opening in the die B and having a periphery corresponding to the interior of the article to be produced, substantially as specified.

Signed by us this 2d day of November, 1889.

F. EOAUBERT.

. 'J. B. HAGSTOZ. Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, WVILLIAM G. Mom. 

